I defined myself by you; by your dreams and your gigs. I was integral to the group at first, when we sang together. Then you pushed me to back-up; then to working lights, and I was your afterthought. You were addicted to applause, to groupies, to uppers. You finally snorted your way to becoming a has-been. You had it all and threw it away.
This year’s a different thing. I’ll not think of you burning out in small town bars. I’m born again. Not in the religious sense. I’ve regained my self-worth. I’m the one riding the waves now, literally. As a cruise ship entertainer, singing in the spotlight and seeing the world. Some nights I stare at the wake. Energy churned up behind the ship, disappearing into darkness. It reminds me that the you I miss every day, disappeared a long time ago.
Written for Prosery Monday at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. Today Merril asks us to include the line “This year’s a different thing – I’ll not think of you again” from the poem I so liked spring by poet Charlotte Maw (1869 – 1928) in our piece of prose that is exactly 144 words long. Photo by Jakub Pabis on Unsplash
AN INVITATION TO ALL MY READERS!
I will host OLN LIVE at dVerse on both Thursday, February 16th, from 3 to 4 PM EST
and on Saturday, February 18th, from 10 to 11 AM EST.
WHAT IS OLN LIVE? Open Link Night (OLN) is an opportunity to post any one poem of your choosing at dVerse, on Mr. Linky, as folks did for this Prosery prompt.There is no required form, length, or topic.
Open Link Night LIVE (OLN LIVE) involves the same process EXCEPT folks are invited to literally meet poets from around the globe by signing into a LIVE session, complete with video and audio. You can tune in to just watch and listen or you can read aloud one poem of your choosing. Just come to the dVerse home page on either Thursday February 16th or Saturday, February 18th (times mentioned above) and click on the provided link and – voila! – you’ll see us all LIVE!
lillian the home poet 
Nicely done, Lill, especially the seamless weaving in of the prompt line. A poignant story too.
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I think the narrator was good to go on her (his?) own way. I imagine it happens often. You did a great job of working in the prompt line!
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A story all to common in today’s world. Snorting your way to the top and ending up at the bottom! Very sad indeed. Well done, Lillian.
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A few friends come to mind while reading this. So true about missing the person who has been long gone and not the person of the now. I wonder if they think the same about me…
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This is sad and the entertainment business can be brutal. You took an interesting direction with this one.
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I love this prompt! All the entries are SO GOOD! Yours and mine are kinda similar but not entirely, I guess. Bravo!
Yay! Thanks, Lillian for keeping that February OLN on. See you there!
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Running the lights for sure doesn’t generate much applause except the time for the general applause, for the back-stage help. My granddaughter when in the 5th through 6 grades ran the lights for her church kids presentations, had a speaking part in the 6th at school, and various jobs or role in the church youth productions. She is a worker, this year in the 8th grade she is a student worker in the school office, Junior High. She does get recognition from the staff and teachers. She knows most every one of these. Her junior high has 1558 students this year.
And yes, I figure that your productions are metaphoric here.
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